Stress and coping among stable-satisfied, stable-distressed and separated/divorced Swiss couples

This article presents a 5-year prospective longitudinal study exploring the effects of stress and individual and dyadic coping on relationship stability among couples in Switzerland. Stress and coping variables assessed at the beginning of the study (tl) were used as predictors for the relationship status five years later (i.e., stable-satisfied; stable-distressed; separated/divorced). At the time of first measurement, all three groups differed significantly in their stress and individual and dyadic coping profiles. On average, the stable-satisfied couples were characterized by a lower level of stress, practiced less dysfunctional individual coping strategies, and relied more frequently on interpersonal (dyadic) coping when dealing with stress. At the end of the five-year period, it was possible to classify couples with 62.1% accuracy into one of three groups-stable-satisfied, stable-distressed, or separated/divorced. On the basis of the predictor variables, 73.3% of the couples could be correctly classified as being either stable or unstable